How Belgium Pressured Me To Dump Eagles-Imoh

Newly capped Super Eagles and Standard Liege of Belgium striker, Ezekiel Imoh, says his father has been the major force responsible for his interest to play for the Nigeria's Super Eagles as Belgium Football Association has been pressurizing him to play for Belgium national team.

Speaking to Super Eagles Media Officer, Ben Alaiya in Atlanta, United States during the international friendly against Mexico, Imoh said he was actually approached to fast-track his Belgian citizenship papers and he did not see anything wrong with it.

“Ordinarily, it takes three years of stay in Belgium to apply for citizenship but after two years I was called up to come and get the papers and I was excited by the offer. But when I called my dad back home in Nigeria, he told me not to because they were luring me with it so that I can play for Belgium. It took a long argument between both of us but at the end of the day I have to listen to my father”.

The striker said the Belgian football authorities wanted him in their junior team immediately for him to blossom for the future, but pressure from his father forced him to have a change of mind. 

“I was encouraged then to join them because more than half of the Belgium national team players are not original indigenes of the country and I thought I could be one for the future but that has changed now that I have played for Nigeria”.